St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-10-06
For the CdledOnidn.
SUNNY CALIFORNIA.


SUNNY CALIFORNIA.
Barren Deserts and Tropical Gardens
The Home of .sRamona.--Old Town
and Its Church
Whoever comes to Southern Califor-
MIA expecting to see land soft and
smiling with deep green grass will be
sadly disappointed, for the most no.
ticeable thing are the stupendous des-
erts stretching out on every hand
seemingly dry and barren, but the soil
is mainly composed of disintegrated
granite making the best of fruit soils.
In the valleys that run winding through
the low table lands that reach back to
the foot hills of the beautiful San la
quail mountains, are occasional water
courses turning seward through long,
green lines of the sycamore, cotton
wood and willow. There are many
pretty houses that line the roadsides,
covered with roses, jessamines and he
liOtrOpe. Among these rise the banana,
the palm, the rubber tree, and perhaps
the camphor tree, with dozens of other
woods. All along the roads are the
dropping and graceful Mexican pepper
trees and the stately Eucalyptus, with
groves of oranges, lemons, olives and
walnuts. The lowlands abound in cac-
tus and sage brush. The valley quail
and little grey rabbit are at home here,
ir1
and helps the thrush fill the air with
song, while the chaparral scuds along
and the ground seems alive with busy
tenants. Every where we see the
ground squirrel, and the burrowing
owl stands beside his hole looking like
some imp ready to spring toward you,
but as you approach spreads his wings
and runs as fast as his legs will carry
him.
There are but two seasons here, the
dry season when it seldom rains for
months tOgather, and the rainy season,
when the number of rainy days never
equal those of a wet spring and sum-
mer days east. The rain coming at IN
tervals, while daily the land grows
greener until the dry plains and mlsa
lands are covered with a carpet of YER
dure and bright rich tints of every hue,
from the pale yellow and delicate blue
to the bright scarlet painted cup that
glow side by side with the crimson
cardinal flower. And looking back up
on the southern slopes of the low hills,
beaming with the orange light of the
wild poppy and beautiful lilies OF deep
lavender, there are the clover, sorrel
and nodding tulips and the members
of the pea family winding and pushing
their tendrils over everything. The
thousand varieties that carpet the hills
and dales marching in floral process
sion, while in the shelter of the rocks
myriads of rare and delicate ferns (such
as you see only i'll hot houses IN the
East) linger after the beauty of the
fields has faded.
A few miles away is the Old Mission,
better known as the home of "Ramo-
na.n the heroine of Helen Hunts his
torical novel. Here are still the
crumbling walls of the old adobe
houses, each adobe lesson and the
Mission sermon, but all is Pompell
of ruins. Here is the old mansion OF
Jose Santonio Estudillo, the marriage
Mace of the lovely Ramona. In the
low walls are cut apertures where were
once small panes of glass. The rooms
are so nearly alike it is hard to dlstln-
guish the parlOr from the kitchen.
fig tree bearing ripening fruit is III the
centre of the court, and one can easily
fancy he sees the handsome "Alessan-
dro" reaching up to pluck the fruit ana
hear him whispering his words OF love
to the fair "Ramona," who may be
standing near him. Except the fig
tree and the pepper and Eucalyptus
there are no signs of vegetable life.
All is silent where a hundred years
ago resounded the merry laughs of the
black-eyed senOritas, when balls were
of daily occurrence, and the fruits and
viands were served without stint, and
the best of wines flowed freely.
A few miles from here is the "Old
Town and the "Old Town" church
looking much like a country school
house. There is nothing of special in
terest about it save the bells from the
Old Mission. These are hung by
chains from low scaffold at the rear
of the little adobe church. Queer
looking things they are, each bearing
the inscription in quaint old letters,
Gave Maria Porisma 1902" One can
not help the feeling of reverence for
them and thought of veneratiOn for
the good old Franciscans who brought
them from other lands, and in their
cracked and husky tones one almost
fancies he can hear some of the strange
tales they might bring to us from the
other shore of the people so long silent
and dead.
The Outrage Upon Colorow.
The report concerning the Ute trOub-
les in Colorado, which has just been
received at Washington from Lieut..